Sports & Fitness

Mbappé fires France into World Cup last 16 with brace as Paraguay showdown confirmed

Kylian Mbappé scored twice to lead France to a commanding 3-0 victory over Sweden, maintaining Les Bleus' perfect World Cup record and securing a place in the last 16, where they will face Paraguay

Updated 4 months ago · Published on 01 Jul 2026 8:40AM

Mbappé fires France into World Cup last 16 with brace as Paraguay showdown confirmed
The French doubled their advantage eight minutes after the restart when Michael Olise delivered a precise pass to Bradley Barcola, who finished emphatically into the top corner (Photo from Reuters) - July 1, 2026

KYLIAN Mbappé produced another outstanding World Cup display with a clinical brace as France eased to a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the round of 32, extending their flawless tournament run to four consecutive wins and booking a last-16 meeting with Paraguay.

France broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time through Mbappé, who cut in from the left before unleashing a powerful strike into the far corner in the 45th minute.

The French doubled their advantage eight minutes after the restart when Michael Olise delivered a precise pass to Bradley Barcola, who finished emphatically into the top corner.

Mbappé wrapped up the victory in the 74th minute, timing his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before collecting another incisive pass from Olise and calmly finishing beyond the Swedish goalkeeper.

The two-goal performance took Mbappé's World Cup tally to 18 goals in 18 appearances, with 10 of those strikes coming in knockout matches, further underlining his reputation as one of the competition's most decisive performers. - July 1, 2026

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